Biography

Italian industrialist, a producer of fashion sporting goods with his three siblings. He oversees a $2 billion global company that supplies 600 administrative jobs for the towns around his Ponzano villa, with 4,000 more employees worldwide. Moreover, he has gone beyond his fashion empire into the passionate world of Italian politics, as a senator.

The Benetton name is golden in Italy. In 1965, Luciano was selling sweaters made by his twin sister, Guilana. The business grew into a knitwear company, then a garment industry empire, with complete clothing collections for women, men and children, with some 40% of their sales centered in Italy. In the U.S., the label appeared in 1979 and within five years Benetton had about 700 U.S. stores. However in 1993, their popularity waned so severely than they dropped to less than 200 stores, due to over expansion and fashion styles that failed to keep up with the U.S. youth market. This seems an anomaly when youth is an obsession in Luciano's personal style and company environment; for a long time the average age of his employees was 30 years. His administrative office, next door to his villa, is a high-tech chalet where informality rules.

A stubborn man, Luciano was reluctant to adapt to American marketing methods. Appearing to be simple and direct, he is below the surface complex and multi-layered, and above all, "always right." His advertising manager noted that he is a modern Medici. His policy of shock-ads are often so far beyond the pale that they are banned. One image, for example, showed an AIDS patient near death; another, a priest and nun kissing with an infant attached by an umbilical cord.

As a boy, Luciano planned to become a physician, but he never went to college. His dad owned a bicycle shop. Luciano build his clothing business with his brothers Carlo, now general manager for North American operations; Gilberto, vice chairman of the company, and his sister, Guilana, who oversees the fashion collections. Separated from his wife, he has two sons who help run the business.

In April 1992 he entered a five year political term. Without prior plans or even an interest in politics, he took seriously the corruption and bad situation of his country, and stepped up to a commitment for political work. He does not plan to make a career of politics but wanted to put his hand into the formation of his government. His vision is to make Italy's business laws part of an international system.

Benetton stores extend to Moscow's Red Square as well as Cuba, Korea, Argentina and the Philippines, reaching markets that were untapped prior to the Benetton expansion. A self-made man, he is known for making things happen.